In 2006 when I got my first dev job, I sat down with the lead developer for about half an hour and …

In 2006 when I got my first dev job, I sat down with the lead developer for about half an hour and we largely just had a very friendly and informal conversation talking about how I would hypothetically build things, what software I enjoy using, etc. I very vividly remember talking about how great I thought it was you could do basic math in the Firefox search bar at the time. He left to talk to the owner, came back with a (in hindsight very small) number on piece of paper, and I started that week. When I started at my current gig over a decade ago I had a three-day ordeal of interviews. In person, telephone, full day of in person again. Spoke with at least six different sets of people. Jobs I've applied for in the interim have been even worse. As someone who has been in a hiring position myself, I think that first informal interview tells you way more than a checklist. If you need the checklist items answered, put them on the application. Interviews should be for getting to know the person. …